IS: Byakuya no Tsubasa
by DestinyKakeru
Summary: English title: 'Wings of the Midnight Sun'. Anime/OVA sequel, light novel AU. Summer vacation is over, and it's time for Ichika to be back in IS Academy for a fresh round of school madness for the new semester. However, the arrival of a new teacher is about to wake him up from his dream, to face the harsh reality. What is the terrible truth behind the IS? ON HIATUS.
1. Prologue: Chifuyu

**PROLOGUE**  
**CHIFUYU**

_As if a seven-hour long flight isn't bad enough._

Chifuyu Orimura sighed as she walked out of the sliding glass doors and was greeted by a blast of hot air. She had to narrow her eyes at the intensity of the sunlight even though she was standing in the shadow of the airport building. She gave her watch a quick glance — it was already past four, but it felt as if it was still midday. She slid a hand into the pocket of her blazer with growing irritation.

_Of all places, that person has to choose to be here — in Singapore._

She couldn't blame him for hiding in such a humid country: Singapore was well-known for its efficient government, stringent law and being one of the safest places in the world to live in. She had no doubt that he would be well-protected here — he would be practically untouchable by the strategic uniqueness of this small island at the very end of the Malay Peninsula.

There was a long queue of empty taxis before her. She quickly got into the first one — the driver, a middle-aged man who seemed to be near his fifties, glanced at her briefly before asking in Mandarin, "Where are you going, Missy?"

She pulled out a slip of paper and handed it over to him. "OK," he replied curtly and returned the paper to her. Soon, the car pulled itself out onto the highway, leaving the iconic Changi Tower behind its back.

x x x

She was dropped off outside a gleaming high-rise condominium fenced off by a two-meter high wall, surrounded by bougainvillea bushes blooming with blood-red flowers. She strode up to the gate, passed the guard on duty with sleepy eyes and stepped into the main lobby. She ignored the suspicious glances from a couple in flip-flops and entered the elevator.

When she walked out at the topmost floor, she quickly strode to the unit at end of the long corridor.

The last unit was just like all the other units along the hallway: a shiny metal gate was shut firmly before the dark wood door, with a few odd pots of plants flanked by the sides of the entrance. Chifuyu reached for the small intercom and pushed the button. She could hear a muffled chime ringing over the other side of the door, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps. There was a soft click emitted from the intercom.

"…"

"Chifuyu Orimura."

There was a short pause, and the big dark wood door opened, revealing the very person that she had been trying to contact for years.

"I apologize for the intrusion," she murmured and entered the house. After she left her heels on the shoe rack, she began to study the interior carefully.

The house was a simple three-room apartment with a living room, a kitchen and just one bedroom. However, as this unit was situated at the topmost level, the ceiling was higher than usual. The owner didn't seem to make much effort with the furnishings: everything was so plain and simple to the point of being extremely dull, void of any attempt at decorating the place.

It was as if this person had no plans to stay here for a long time.

"I heard that you just moved in here, about three months ago?" she asked casually to the departing figure heading towards the kitchen.

"Yeah," he replied distractedly. After a moment he came back with a steaming mug. "Coffee? I don't have alcohol."

"Thank you." She took the cup from him and sat down on the sofa. She decided to be direct. "I think you know the purpose of my visit."

He tiled his head slightly at her statement. "I don't want to disappoint you, but it really depends on what you can give me in return." He sat down beside her and gave her a calculating look.

She chuckled. "You don't need to be so tense around me."

He didn't relax one bit. "I admit that the offer is very tempting, but I'm pretty much content with what I have now." He turned and looked away. "I know that you're doing this for your brother, but I don't see how I am of much help to him."

She set down the mug. "That can be easily arranged."

He faced her again with a raised eyebrow.

"I have been promoted."

He slowly let out his breath. "You must be really desperate, huh?"

She didn't answer; instead, she pulled out a small thumbdrive from her blazer pocket. "I think this will make you understand why I need your aid."

He took the small device and turned it over on his palm. "…I see." He closed his eyes and spoke, "I know how it feels like to lose someone whom you dearly love. Alright, it's a deal." He stood up and gave her a reluctant frown. "But do I seriously have to…well, you know…_that_?"

She laughed at the rising color on his face. "It's the only way you can enter IS Academy." She handed him a ticket. "I will see you at the airport tomorrow. I think it shouldn't be much of a problem for you." She gestured at his furniture.

He gave her a wry smile. "What makes you so confident that I will agree to go back to Japan with you?"

"I've known you for years; we may have lost in touch for a long time, but to me, you haven't changed much." With that, she got up and made her way to the door.

"…Wait."

She stopped in her tracks and turned around, only to see him surrounded by three holographic screens. "You can stay here for the night," he muttered while he busily scanned through his emails.

Chifuyu smiled and sat down on the sofa once more, draining the mug of warm coffee in one swing.

* * *

**A/N:** I know that this prologue chapter is kinda vague and confusing to some readers (even for those self-proclaimed experts of the IS universe) with the introduction of a mysterious OC but I won't say much here in case I spill out spoilers unintentionally. Rest assured that this fanfic won't be the mainstream ones you can find in the IS archives on this site — I'm the kind of writer who likes to find ways to break out of the mainstream cage in my stories. Be warned that this fanfic isn't for those who are merely seeking for fluffs, fan services or tech-geek moments — expect some psycho mind-screws with a much deeper and darker plot than the original light novel/anime series as the story progresses.


	2. Phase 1: Ichika

**A/N:** Apologies for not updating this fanfic for a long long time — after the school exam fever I was also participating in this year's NaNoWriMo (which I actually won). Anyway, I just want to say that I'm finally back in action! To be honest I've been working really hard in the background to come out with chapter 1 while battling with my writer's block constantly coming back to distract me from completing my draft. Here's the first segment of the draft — well, basically this is just a preview. I'm holding back the rest as I'm still rewriting and editing it to make it better before I show it to the world (pardon me for being a perfectionist haha).

Rants aside, any helpful comments on how I can improve on this chapter are most welcome!

* * *

**PHASE 1  
ICHIKA**

Ichika Orimura gave the vacant house one last glance. Summer vacation was over, and it was now time for him to get back to IS Academy for the new school term.

He let out a long sigh at that thought. Ever since the day the girls visited him at his house, his older sister, Chifuyu Orimura, had never came back home again. All he knew was that she planned to fly to Singapore on some "official business", and as usual she didn't disclose him with further details.

He permitted himself a small smile. _She rarely tells me more than what I need to know — she can be quite cryptic at times._

He strolled down the road towards the skytrain station. He always tried to tell himself that he was used to her long absence from home, but he couldn't stop the sinking feeling deep down inside him that he really did miss having her around. Chifuyu was all that he was left with after their parents abandoned them many years ago, and she was forced to take up the responsibility to bring him up on her own — Ichika was well aware how hard it was for her back then. Of course, at that point in time he was too young, too immature to truly understand the pain she was going through. There were occasions where he threw tantrums at her for being too harsh on him, and how he envied other kids of his age for having a warm and loving family.

Then the kidnapping incident when he was ten years old woke him up from his childish trance: Chifuyu gave up her chance at the second Mondo Grosso finals just to rescue him, and she had to repay the German army with a one-year service for providing her with the information to get him back. His heart was filled with guilt — for a moment he was convinced that his existence was the cause of his sister's suffering, and he was determined to do whatever he could to share the burden with her, to be independent enough so that she wouldn't have to worry herself so much to look out for him like before.

"I...Ichika!" the sound of someone calling his name brought him back to reality.

"H-Houki?" He looked up and spotted the slim figure of his first childhood friend Houki Shinonono in her white IS uniform, her long dark hair tied up behind her head with a large green ribbon, her shinai wrapped up in a dark-blue cloth and hoisted on her back. She wore her signature pout on her heart-shaped face, her arms crossed before her chest that made her radiate with a rather intimidating aura. As Ichika fixed his gaze on Houki's breasts, memories from the night at the beach flashed across his mind; even the time he had spent with her on Tanabata became fresh behind his eyes. He grinned at her, trying to look casual, but he couldn't stop the heat slowly creeping up his neck to his cheeks.

For a moment the heavy awkwardness hung in the air between the two. Finally, Houki broke the silence. "Um, so… S-Shall we go to school t-t-together?"

"Uh, sure, I guess?" Ichika was finding it harder to keep up with his plastic smile. He couldn't understand why he was starting to feel very conscious around her. _She's only a childhood friend_, he told himself firmly. He was a little amused when he noticed that Houki's mood became considerably brighter and her frown vanished, replaced by a rare sweet smile. Her eyes met his questioning stare and she hurriedly turned her head away, but not before Ichika caught her blushing face.

_Even though she always put up a tough front, her soft side is actually kind of cute… Wait, what the heck am I thinking?_ Confusion clouded Ichika's mind. Ever since the two incidents with Houki, he was becoming less certain about how he should deal with their relationship. _What is going on between us?_

"I didn't expect you to be as sneaky as Dunois, Houki Shinonono!" A new female voice pulled him out of his little mental struggle. He looked around to see another girl in IS uniform appearing from behind Houki — his second childhood friend, Huang Lingyin.

"Rin?"

Rin threw back her twin ponytails and pointed at Houki, her finger trembling from her anger. "I can't believe that you're actually this kind of person…"

"Of course I'm not!" Houki snapped back. "I…I just happen to pass by! What about _you_? Why are _you_ here?"

"Now, now…" Ichika stepped in between the two girls. "L-Let's go to school together, shall we? Well, I don't want to keep the rest waiting—"

"The _rest_?" Both Houki and Rin narrowed their eyes at him.

"Uh, I'm actually meeting Char, Laura and Cecilia at the station…_ow_!" He winced when they whacked the back of his head with their bags.

He let out a tired sigh and followed behind his still-fuming childhood friends. _What a way to start the new school semester._

**- TO BE CONTINUED -**


End file.
